Playstation

Capcom’s premiere futuristic ninja is finally wrecking havoc both on PS3 and PS4 and Square Enix kicks off the public PS4 beta of their MMORPG. Rayman Legends also makes an upgrade to next-gen and you can also get good ol’ Adewale’s adventure without having the main Assassin’s Creed IV game.

Rise up against slavery with the latest single-player action-adventure game in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Assassin’s Creed Freedom Cry is now available exclusively for download on PS4 and PS3. Born a slave, Adewale found freedom as a pirate. Now, 15 years after the events of Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag, Adewale has become a trained Assassin.

The Glade of Dreams is in trouble once again! During a 100-year nap, the nightmares multiplied and spread, creating new monsters even more terrifying than before! These creatures are the stuff of legend… Dragons, giant toads, sea monsters, and even evil luchadores. With the help of Murfy, Rayman and Globox awake and must now help fight these nightmares and save the Teensies!

Strider returns in a brand new adventure, complete with incredible side-scrolling action, and lightning fast combat all in a massive interconnected world! Download the full game now and become the original assassin!

Beta test the award-winning FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn now for FREE with players from around the world. The beta will be available from Saturday, February 22, 2014 to Sunday, March 2, 2014. Characters created during the beta are limited to level 20 and progress will not be saved after the beta ends.Create your own unique FINAL FANTASY hero and embark on the adventure of a lifetime to help forge the fate of Eorzea.

The excellent Tomba! 2 makes an appearance in the PSone classics section of the store as a follow to the original Tomba! that was released a couple of weeks ago. PS2 Classics have Neo Contra which I don’t remember ever playing. Heh.

Sales galore! Aside from the huge list this week, there’s a separate Rockstar Sale going on which you should check out. Bully for under $3 is a steal, my friends.

For fellow PS Plussers we are entitled to Remember Me (starring Renz Verano) on PS3 and Street Fighter X Tekken on Ps Vita for the exciting price of ‘free’.

For a complete list of additions and changes to the PS Store, hit the source link!

The third game to grace the next-gen Instant Game Collection is the survival indie game Don’t Starve for the PS4. In it you play a scientist trapped in limbo where you’ll need to use the available resources to not die. It is also a game that teaches us that rabbits are yummy.

If you are still sporting that retro machine called the PS3 (heh) then you can download Ninja Theory’s Dante reboot, DMC: Devil May Cry for it. In it, you play Keanu Reeves.

Sorry Vita owners. Nothing for you this week. Boo.

Don’t Starve (PS4)

Free for PS Plus members

Don’t Starve: Console Edition is an uncompromising wilderness survival game full of science and magic. You play as Wilson, an intrepid Gentleman Scientist who has been trapped by a demon and transported to a mysterious wilderness world. Wilson must learn to exploit his environment and its inhabitants if he ever hopes to escape and find his way back home.

DMC Devil May Cry (PS3)

Free for PS Plus members

In a society corrupted by demons only The Order can see the world for what it really is. Join Dante in the ultimate experience of stylish action chain together combo after combo with panache and dispatch demonic spawn back to hell – reveal the truth behind the lies. Explore Dante’s dark past encountering some the most familiar faces in the DmC universe. Call upon unimaginable powers combined with Dante’s epic arsenal of weapons: sword, scyte, axe, pistols and more. Face your demons…

Strategy Role Playing Game Natural Doctrine is set for a February 22nd release in Japan (a.k.a. Japanese PS4 launch). It’s from Kadokawa Games — favorite publisher of Suda 51 (Killer is Dead, Lollipop Chainsaw) — and Patapon director Atsushi Ii. The game will be available for all three active Sony consoles: The PS3, PS4 and the PS Vita.

Judging from what we’ve seen so far, Natural Doctrine will let go of the traditional grid-based SRPG in favor of a more free-flowing movement system. If this turns out to be something like Valkyria Chronicles, then me says absolutely DO WANT!

Sega has shown a new trailer for their upcoming Vita game, Phantasy Star Nova — abbreviated as PSN (good one, Sony) — the non-MMO version of Phantasy Star Online 2.

Graphics are gorgeous, and this proves that Vita games are really improving fast as devs get more familiar with the handheld. I bet it would look awesome played on the PS Vita TV using a big screen television set.

The game is releasing in Japan in 2014. No western release announcement yet. Watch the trailer above and check out the screenshot gallery below!

The Japan Sony Press Conference is still ongoing as I write this but the PS Vita part of it has just concluded.

Here’s what they’ve shown:

New PS Vita 2000 series. Thinner and lighter and presumably cheaper, it looks exactly like the original PS Vita but it now sports a cheaper LCD screen (original uses a glorious OLED screen), comes with 1GB memory, and will come in 6 different colors at launch. It will also be bundled with a 90 day PlayStation Plus subscription.

PS Vita Greatest Hits Line. Just like the PS3, select PS Vita games will be sold at a cheaper price point.

Cheaper memory cards and a new 64GB card. I need this.

Soul Sacrifice Delta anounced for March 2014. “This is a brand new version with brand new elements and brand new items which gives the unique flavor of Soul Sacrifice.” says creator Keiji Inafune. Mmmkay.

Dive Kick is a fighting game that literally uses only two (2) buttons to play. The D-pad is of no use in this game so there aren’t any complex input patterns or chain combos you have to memorize in order to pick up this game. As a matter of fact, one or two games in, you’ll automatically “get” this game. Despite the simplicity of the game’s control, Dive Kick is able to draw in fighting game newbies and veterans alike with a surprising amount of depth. I also have to point out that I’m a very casual player of fighting games.

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Timing is the name of the game:

With the game in a perpetual state of sudden death, one hit is all you need to win a round in Dive Kick. Each of the thirteen (13) characters in the game’s roster play differently even if your input device is limited to only two (2) buttons. The variation in play style of each character lies in how high they can “dive” (jump), the angle of their kick, the velocity of said kick, and then there are some x-factors which are special moves activated by pressing the two buttons at the same time and the kick meter powers (super moves). You goal is simply to trick your opponent into a position where they are unable to avoid your dive kick (you can’t block in this game). As I said, anybody can pick up on this game without having to go through rigorous move-list memorizing and single player training on combos and learning the proper timing of special moves. You can play this game with anyone, even people who have no aptitude or interest in playing games in general.

One shot is all you need to win

Talking Trash:

Even if tensions would run high, I believe trash talking plays an important role in fighting games because its one of the best tools to psyce people out (just don’t get too personal). Dive Kick goes out of its way to highlight people when they are sucking real bad with the fraudand choke detection system. These “systems” basically just add insult to injury when a player fails to win a single round or lose the game to a five to zero comeback all in good fun. Also, for the first time ever (I think), head shots matter in a fighting game! Kicking someone in the head will not only give you a rush with a “headshot” victory banner, you will also render your opponent dizzy for the next round making their dive kicks less effective for a fixed period of time on top of cancelling out their kick meter (super move bar). There is even a gem you can equip before a match called the YOLO gem (self explanatory) and nothing is more humiliating than getting your ass kicked by someone with that gem.

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Stretching Out The Game:

There are thirteen (13) characters with funny background stories which will compel you to finish story mode just to see what hilarity ensues at the ending for each character. Outside that, there is online multiplayer for casual games and ranked games. You’ll need to go online and fight ranked matches to acquire all trophies which will take quite some time because the feats you have to pull off aren’t exactly easy (if you don’t cheat and farm them with a friend). Other than that, it would really depend on your group of friends or if the game is actually going to show up in your local tournament. Dive Kick is actually an EVO approved game.

Good Points:

There is enough depth and fun to go around for everyone in this game for fighting game veterans and people who couldn’t care less about the genre.

It’s a great game to break out anywhere (you can play versus mode with two human players on one PS Vita) it’s a great game to kill time with.

Dive Kick doesn’t take itself seriously despite the raves of people on how deep the game is. The creators of the game still treat Dive Kick as a parody game and with that, there is a lot of good laughs to go around from the character back stories to Uncle Sensei’s pre-match tips.

Bad Points:

The simplistic controls will eventually bare down on you despite of the depth of the game. It will be hard to play this game for extended periods of time.

Things Which Can Go Either Way:

The intentional comedic character design, dialogue, and character voices may not appeal to everyone or may not get the jokes because there are a lot of references to fighting games and culture. I don’t get most of them.

The art style and character design will not appeal to everyone.

Dive Kick will probably piss hardcore fighting game veterans when they lose to a clueless newbie (which is entirely possible).

At the beginning of Sony’s Gamescom 2013 presscon, Sony Worldwide Studios head-honcho Shuhei Yoshida presented the PS4’s interface in a very relaxed way. He browsed the menus, checked a couple of games, went into and watched an ongoing Killzone: Shadowfall game stream, then proceeded to join the game. He then uploaded a screenshot and capped it all with a tweet to start the show.

Very classy, Sony. I really like how the interface shows all info about the game (like trophy count and friends, etc) just by hovering on it.

Killer is Dead is a third-person action slasher from the creative mind of Goichi Suda (Suda51) from Grasshopper Manufacture. The game’s tone is highly stylized and its plot outrageous enough to ruffle some feathers causing a sort of online debate between an XSEED employee and a guy who made a video dissing Suda 51. There were probably more discussions on Killer is Dead in a similar light (sexism, objectification of women) but honestly I wouldn’t focus on it so let’s get past that and get into everything else about the game as “Gigolo mode” is not the only thing going on for the game.

We’ll never know how she does that trick. Aliens.

You play the role of Mondo Zappa whoworks for an “execution agency” which fulfills job requests to execute killers. Each main episode will take you to different places from a dinky back alley to the moon and face off against weird and freakish monstrosities called “Wires” who were once people but corrupted by an energy coming from the “Dark Side of the Moon” (he he he). Each plot character helps you out during the course of certain missions. Mika Takekawa, your plucky live-in assistant revives you when you run out of health for a price which you pre-pay by purchasing a “Mika Ticket” from the gift shop. Simply put, these tickets are continues. Vivienne Squall, is your boss who gives you a ride when chasing mobile targets or provides you with suppressing fire in dicey situations. Bryan Roses, a full fledged cyborg, is the chief of your execution office, when he isn’t taking on clients who end up skipping the payment portion of an execution contract, he brings in the heavy artillery by setting up a Gatling gun to take out targets from a distance in certain missions. Mondo doesn’t seem to remember too much about his past but slowly regains his memories as the plot unravels his unmistakable connection with the dark energies coming from the moon.

You have two modes of attack in Killer is Dead, your katana and your cyborg arm which can turn into a machine gun, drill arm, freeze gun, and charge pulse rifle. Mondo can unlock attack skills by gathering moon crystals from killing Wire minions. Speaking of crystals, while they drop randomly from underlings, you can force a specific type of crystal to drop upon killing them by executing them. The execution sequence triggers when you have a high chain combo and knock an enemy’s HP to zero, you will then be prompted to select the Square, Triangle, Circle, or X button each of which will force a copious amount of crystals to drop from each bad guy. Mondo’s left arm is powered by blood crystals so you will need a blood resupply every now and then so you’ll definitely want to keep your chain combos up to maintain a seemingly endless supply of blood (like there is any shortage of that in the game). There really is a lot going on the screen when you get into the meat of the game so you’ll be mashing buttons in a certain pattern like crazy which is what I believe such action games are all about. If you’re not mashing buttons enough, you’re probably playing a crappy action game.

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Good Points:

Blue streaks come out of your katana when you up your attack speed through making high-chain combos.

Killer is Dead has a very rewarding combat experience when you get a hang of the game’s combo and defense system. Mondo’s attacks increase in speed and flare when you start stringing up high number combos (20 hits and above) and that’s when everything goes wild. You will be facing enemies from all directions and some of them will even shoot your from a far. Getting the hang of executing “dodge bursts” and “just guards” will treat you to a string of bloody-cool finishing moves and make you feel a million times cooler than you are in real life (obvious exaggeration may have to be pointed out here). You can tell that the game is developed for anybody to have a real blast because you can score in a lot of lucky dodges and guards simply by mashing buttons. It’s a good thing that mashing buttons can get you through a stage, but only mastery of the game will net you a highest possible rank in a mission so the game is still challenging even if complete noobs can enjoy the game.

The music of the game is a great accompaniment to the mash-ups of locations, Suda 51’s inspirations for the game (Bayformers, James Bond, and Samurai Champloo), and even specific situations (like the intimate scenes with the Mondo girls). There is a healthy mix of music genres in the game to keep it refreshing all through-out the game.

Bad Points:

There really isn’t anything to get behind the fragments of the game’s plot. Not like I was expecting extensive back stories on characters or anything but aside from the cool fight mechanics in combat, the plot of the story is barely fascinating or amusing and the punch lines for the jokes in the game were weak, very weak. A lot of things just simply didn’t make sense even if they are being tied up to the main story line but hey, unicorns! Let’s not bother explaining why they exist in the game, I guess Suda 51 and the rest of the team were taking LSD when they thought of that.

I don’t think t his was ever explained in the game but Unicorns, so who cares?

Display issues. Frame rates drop frequently when there are a lot of elements or particles on screen and on top of that there are times when the camera angles would mess up your view causing you to lose track of your targets or surroundings that would break your combo chain and possibly cost you the highest rank in a mission. I get hit with bad angles a lot and they tend to become very frustrating.

The mechanics for “gigolo mode” in Killer is Dead are extremely awkward for people who’ve gotten past the “curiosity” stage of growing up. I believe there is no need for an in-depth discussion on why would one feel uncomfortable with having to stare at women’s breasts, crotch, or hips (without the woman taking notice of your blatant eye-banging) to muster enough courage to present gifts to women to gain affection and eventually make her agree with sleeping with you. The Gigolo glasses that come as DLC with every launch copy allows you to see the women in lingerie (just like every boy’s dream of having “x-ray specs). The reasons you’ll be doing gigolo mode (hopefully) is to acquire new left arm attachments and for trophies. If you’re motivated by anything more than that, I would seriously recommend that you seek #help. For the record, the Gigolo Glasses increase your courage at a higher rate so I use them in the game so I get to see them in their lingerie all the time.

While we’re on the topic, I might as well touch the part were you get intimate with the Mondo Girls, specifically (Natalie, Koharu, and Betty (bonus DLC vampire.) There are three intimate scenes which just get more risque. Betty is basically a re-skin of Natalie whose scenes are pretty much your generic Hollywood movie scene while Koharu’s scenes play on men’s fantasy of a traditional Japanese girl with a hidden beast locked away inside her. When you get intimate with Koharu, there are taiko drums banging in the background and then you know why there is a hard, banging, and rhythmic beat going on right? I don’t know if I’m just wired the wrong way but I found it funny because it was obviously intentional and people, haven’t you not all done some kinky stuff in your lives?

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If its any consolation to those who would be deeply offended by this mode, one Mondo girl (Scarlet) does not operate within the confines of said gigolo mode but rather is the issuer of challenge missions where you have to beat regular bad guys with certain conditions such as (kill one type of enemy only, killing anything else means mission failure) and they’re not exactly easy. That’s more replay value right there.

Things That Swing Either Way:

Playing the game is easy but mastering it is hard. You can play through the story and the side quests without having to master the game and/or have mad twitch skills. However, I believe that people who like challenges should purchase this game and aspire to score a platinum trophy. I’m telling your right now getting a “plat” in this game would be a big achievement.

You will simply look too damned cool in this game. If stylized violence is your thing (not if you want to murder people IRL, okay?), you need not look further.

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In line with scoring platinum trophy, the game’s main missions are very short (6-7 hours tops). If you wanted to, you could finish the game in one sitting and it’s not even going to be that hard. If you don’t like exploring side quests or finding hidden items within stages, there isn’t going to be much value for you especially if you think that the story line jumps into any sort of deep or existential discussions and similar (pretentious crap) themes people will gush about.

I have yet to find Juliet Starling in the game so that is more reason to go back to the game and the mere fact that a game crossover is included in the game as a secret rather than a DLC is certainly something refreshing to see in this day and age. Then again, an exuberant chainsaw wielding cheerleader may not be for everyone. So there’s that too.

What happens between them? I don’t know. I have to find her first.

In Conclusion:

Killer is Dead has core game mechanics which rewards players who learn them with a fun time hacking, slashing, and shooting people in style. The game’s over-the-top treatment of everything points to the obvious that things are grossly exaggerated in the game so there is little merit to attack the game because of the Gigolo Mode. While possibly done in poor taste, they may have lost sales but let’s not start a revolution over it. While not being one of those “serious games”, the humor in the game is severely lacking so the game barely got a chuckle out of me even though some parts were meant to be funny. The music of the game sucks you into the mood real good whether you are busting through a Japanese fortress, dueling on the moon, or getting intimate with the Mondo Girls which sets a pretty good bar in terms of musical score for games. The violence and sexual content of this game however will make me think twice about letting kids (and immature people in general) playing this game. Killer is Dead is one of those games you don’t want to buy for your kids or if you do, better give them “the talk” and set them straight because if this is their reality for dating women, help…

If you’re going to pick-up Killer is Dead, I suggest you wait for the R1 version of the game which includes a 25 track OST and an art book for all launch copies. The R3 copy I bought just has the “Smooth Operator” DLC which is also included in the R1 copy of the game.

Oh and the game is in dual audio so you can go English voice or Japanese voice. I prefer the English voices but Mondo sounds nothing like a James Bond in both audio options.

Ubisoft’s little masochistic platformer is finally out! Cloudberry Kingdom‘s randomly generated levels are here to make even the most hardcore jump maniac cry like a little girl.

Here’s the launch trailer:

There’s also Deep Silver’s new twin-stick shooter, Narco Terror. It’s a game inspired by such arcade classics such as Commando, MERCS, Ikari Warriors, and Space Invaders, and modern titles such as Assault Heroes, Renegade Ops, Geometry Wars, and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. They’ve also added an online multiplayer co-op mode. Worth checking out.

If you haven’t played the excellent Journey (not starring Arnel Pineda) and The Unfinished Swan then there’s a bundle sale for these critically acclaimed indie titles. Pick them both up for $14.99

And lastly, I’m gonna include the PlayStation Plus update in this post because I hate this week’s update and I’m a lazy nipple. So here’s the image to sum it up:

Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee HD (PS3) is free starting tomorrow for PlayStation Plus members. I didn’t like the Oddworld games when they came out on the original PlayStation, but people seem to disagree so I will give it another chance since I can get it now for free. I hope the updated HD visuals will make me suffer a full playthrough.

Part 2 of the Summer Blast 2013 Sale will also drop tomorrow and here’s the list of things you can get for much less than the usual:

Good things come to those who wait and this rings true for this week’s PlayStation Plus update — as Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward for PS Vita (a game I’ve been thinking of buying since it came out) is added to the Instant Games Collection! *mrslash is happy*

Sorry PS3 owners, nothing free for you this week. *tear*

Other PS+ privileges this week are discounts for old (and lame) games. Here’s the list!

Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward (PS Vita)

PSN Price: $34.99, Free for PS Plus members

Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward is a suspense-driven visual novel/puzzle game and spiritual sequel to the hit, 999. Zero has kidnapped nine people and placed them in a warehouse to play the deadly Nonary Game. These seemingly nine strangers have bracelets that will kill them if they don’t play the game correctly. However, how can they trust each other, and do some have ulterior motives? Play as Sigma and decide who to trust and who to betray in this plot twisting visual novel! Who is Zero, why has Sigma been brought here and who exactly are the others? With fully voiced dual language support, mind-bending puzzles and more, solve the mystery that is Zero!

Creat Studios Summer Survival Pack (PS3)

20% Discount – PSN Price: $19.99, $15.99 for PS Plus members

Beat the heat and stay cool this season with the Creat Studios Summer Survival Pack! The pack is loaded with 7 of Creat Studio’s most popular PlayStation Network exclusive titles for one limited-time, very low price! Games included: Mushroom Wars + Premium Pack DLC, Germinator, Labyrinth Legends, Digger HD, Pinballistik, Test Yourself, Psych Yourself. This is offer will be available for 2 weeks.

Fat Princess Sale (PS3 and PSP)

Rescue your beloved princess through teamwork in this comic medieval battle royale. There’s a catch, though—the other team has been feeding her magical cake, making her harder to escort back to your castle. Charge head first into battle, heal teammates as they break through enemy lines, and upgrade your team and the castle defenses as you work with your team to save your princess.

Escape Plan (PS Vita)

50% Discount – PSN Price: $7.49, $3.75 for PS Plus members

Escape Plan takes advantage of the PlayStation®Vita system’s multi-touch display, rear touch panel, swipe interfaces and motion sensor, putting the fate of Lil & Laarg in the palm of your hand. Players can swipe, tap, poke, squeeze and slap our hapless heroes and interact with the unique and twisted puzzles of each room. Only you can help them survive before their captor and nemesis, Bakuki, recycles them and turns them into his minions. Swipe as if your life depended on it in this exclusive survival-humor game for the PS Vita system.

Pool Nation (PS3)

40% Discount – PSN Price: $8.49, $5.09 for PS Plus members

Pool Nation is the ultimate pool game – featuring stunning graphics, 11 addictive game modes including adrenaline pumping Endurance, the extensive tour, and 7 exciting online modes, and new Speed Pool Online! In Pool Nation gameplay is king, the ease of control means you can pull off trick shots you wouldn’t dream of in the real world and then parade them to your friends via YouTube! You can customize your game with balls, cues and table decals.

Hydrophobia: Prophecy (PS3)

80% Discount – PSN Price: $2.99, $0.60 for PS Plus members

Hydrophobia: Prophecy is the ultimate version of this jaw-dropping action-adventure set onboard a floating city, where terrorists take control and heroine Kate has to fight back using all her skills and expertise as a systems engineer.

Wacky open-world sandboxer Saint’s Row: The Third joins the PS Plus Instant Game Collection (cool kids call it ‘IGC’) tomorrow! That means it goes from the PlayStation Store to you PS3 hard drive even if you don’t have anything in your PS wallet.

PSP hunting game God Eater Burst (compatible with PSP and PS Vita) also goes free for members of PlayStation’s premium service. It teaches us that if you eat a God, your tummy will burst!

In a recent interview by RPGsite with Final Fantasy X producer Yoshinori Kitase revealed the challenges of developing the HD remake and teases us the possibilities of more HD remakes of beloved Final Fantasy titles, Final Fantasy XII to be exact. All these possibilities seem to hinge on the success of the Final Fantasy X and X-2 HD remakes which were announced as early as the Tokyo Game Show in 2011 and is just about to see the light of day two years later in 2013 due to development challenges. I’m pretty sure everyone will be excited at the prospect of a Final Fantasy XII HD remake. I sure as hell am, having forgone the opportunity to play the game back in the day.

Rubs, Editor-in-Chief—Since I got the game a week early, I know all of my 30lives peers have been busy sinking their teeth on Naughty Dog’s PS3 swan song, The Last of Us. I, however, have been busy farming sharks and winning Bug-offs in Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

Apart from that, I did pick up my Vampire Rain save file from a few months ago. Completely underrated title that everyone needs to check out; I got my copy for two bucks a few months ago and I’d say it’s probably worth ten times that.

Semi-related, I did just finish watching WWE Payback on Sony’s new streaming service for the PS3. I guess since Xbox gets UFC events for free, Sony’s feeling the need to counter back with some free fake-fighting PPVs of their own?

Cheena, Managing Editor—This week’s worth of gaming was capped off by Animal Crossing: New Leaf and The Last of Us. I’ve planted a few sets of trees to supplement my town’s pear production by stealing fruits from unsuspecting friends. Also discovered the wonderful tropical island where I got most of my exotic bugs to win the Bug-Off event last Saturday. So far, most of my fortune cookies gave me Zelda items like the Triforce, Master Sword and Midna’s mask. What’s up with that?

As for The Last of Us, we’re (husband and I) at about 50% done with the game. Too much things happening in the game and it’s hard to get a breather, seriously. I wonder where Joel and Ellie get the strength to keep shiving and throwing bricks at these clickers? Also, Man of Steel stole some of the free time we had last Saturday and it was a time NOT well-spent. Should’ve stayed home to play!

Another thing of note: we had to buy a new PS3 super slim just to play TLOU. Apparently, my old PS3 slim’s lens conked out and cannot read dual layer discs anymore. Ah well, into the bedroom for casual gaming you go!

Finally, there’s XCOM which is the free PS+ full game for the month! Well, I’m sure most of you guys have finished the game already but I haven’t. Sinking my teeth into a strategy game for now and I should be able to finish it in the next few days.

Shin, News Editor—I created a couple of characters for the Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn closed beta test for the PS3. I made a kitty race (forgot the actual name of the race) Lancer and a midget (again, forgot) Black Mage. ARR is a real improvement from FFXIV v.1; quests are more streamlined and the tutorials are now actually helpful. The dualshock 3 controller scheme is brilliant and intuitive. I know I kinda swore off MMORPGs in general but I think I’ll give this a try. Good job, Squenix! [Edit: The name of the cat-like race is “Miqo’te”. I learned how to google]

Meet my Shinyan Tailspin. He is half Neko, half Disney.

E3 came with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 news and it looks awesome. And because of that, I would really like to finish the 3DS game that bridge the first and second game. So yeah I was TRYING to finish Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate but I seem to get afflicted with narcolepsy with every attempt.

Yes, of course I’m also playing Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us like the other guys. What the other guys are not playing though, is its kickass multiplayer mode! Seriously, I think they are afraid. What a bunch of noobs.

Alex, Editor of Things—I’m now splitting my time between The Last of Us (TLOU) and Animal Crossing: New Leaf. The latter of which is taking up most of my time because: grindan adventures. I’ve made a resolution to play TLOU late at night just for kicks so I won’t get that much playing time granted that I’m not a night person.

TLOU is certainly a great game but I do have beef about all the “perfect” ratings of the game from reviews. How does a perfect game graphically not run on a smooth 60 FPS at 720p? I certainly found that bit annoying but certainly not a deal breaker. I, however fell victim to the “save bug” which rendered my initial 2-3 hours of gameplay moot. Again, perfect game my foot. I will grudgingly pass my first playthrough’s progress tonight. Eat molotov ya shitty clickers.

I have an abundance of sharks and bad puns.

It’s no secret that I’ve been “hardcoring” a casual game (Animal Crossing) but those blasted Nooks keep making me fall into debt and between passing new ordinances and public works, there is never enough Bells to go around town. Bug hunting in the tropical island is great between 5:00 am to 8:00 am or 11:00 pm to 2:00 am (so when do I actually play TLOU?) in my experience. I made most of my money catching rare bugs and sharks during these times.

While my peers here are reaping the benefits of the latest free games on PS+, I really don’t care… I finished most of those games already. If anything, those new PS+ instant game collections make me feel like I’m burning money.

Lastly, thanks to Chip (one of our awesome readers), I’ll be able to jump into Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn this weekend when the second round of closed beta testing happens next weekend.